A case study of applying Kano's model and ANOVA technique in evaluating service quality

Since the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit System (KRTS) in Taiwan started to operate, the KRTC has continued to rack up a heavy loss. The major reason why Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation suffered such big deficit is that the actual passenger volume is far below than the expected passenger volume. Thus, it is critically important to not only attract more passengers having a trip on the KRTC trains but also retain current passengers by understanding and fulfilling their various needs. In this study, an integrated approach of Kano's model and ANOVA technique is applied to first understand passengers' service quality requirements of KRTS services from psychological viewpoints and then identify significant demographic variables for market segmentation. When passengers are classified into several clusters in terms of demographic variables, the preferences among the clusters can be easily identified and the management can further make different marketing strategies to meet different passengers' needs in order to provide customer-oriented services. © 2011 Asian Network for Scientific Information.